Orchards, Meadows & Kitchen Gardens

Year

1998 - present

Location

Gloucestershire, Somerset, Monmouthshire, Cotswolds, Wye Valley

Orchards & Walled Gardens

As much as I enjoy our ‘core’ garden services, the aesthetics, design and maintenance of weeding herbaceous borders, trimming hedges, mowing lawns, I am particularly enthusiastic about productive gardening; growing fruit and vegetables in a sustainable and organic way. We look after traditional orchards, with mature standard apples, pears, plums and formally trained fruit trees; espaliers, fans, cordons. Each requiring their particular pruning & training techniques.

Late summer pruning of fruit trees.

RHS advice: Espaliers & Apples & pears winter pruning

Kitchen Gardens

Bringing design, aesthetics and function together is what I enjoy the most, a geometric arrangement of turnips or a decorative combination of Kale and Marigold. A Potager, or ornamental kitchen garden is the ideal, the reality more often being furiously picking voracious caterpillars off this years crop of kale, cabbage & chard.

Kitchen Gardens

Although licesnsed to use herbicides, I do so rarely (principally glyphosate on hard surfaces) and certainly not around growing fruit and veg. I am committed to using organic gardening methods and integrated pest management techniques.

Wildlife in a Traditional Orchard

The focus of our orchard and tree management isn’t always solely on an abundance of quality fruit. Traditional orchards are fantastic places for wildlife and are often a refuge within an intensively farmed wider landscape. We balance good fruit management with an element of ‘wildness’ that encourages a rich diversity of wildlife. Traditional orchards are an important Priority Habitat and there’s a lot of great info on the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species website.

Managing gardens for wildlife.